Short-sighted super cut

The Federal Government’s proposed change to concessional taxing of superannuation contributions by high income earners flies in the face of the long-standing message out of Canberra to all workers that they must self-fund their own retirement.

This is a responsibility that most people take very seriously. More tax on super, regardless of who it affects, reduces the incentive to be self-sufficient and ultimately will see more people rely on the public purse in retirement, including some current high earners.

This decision is a poor strategic move on the government’s part and a clumsy way to get the budget back to a modest surplus.

Furthermore, in our view, this initial targeting of the highest income earners is just the beginning. It is only a matter of time before this penalty is extended to those on more moderate incomes.

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